How to Manage Stress

What is stress?

People usually experience stress when they are under pressure and cannot cope in life. This could be due to stresses at work or in their day to day challenges. People can become very emotional and anxious during this period.

Statistics from studies have shown that 25% of people in employment have been absent from work due to stress. Some of the factors that cause people to take time off due to stress include working far too many hours, not feeling supported and heavy workloads.

What are the signs of stress?

The common warnings of stress include loss of appetite or increase in weight, not being able to sleep, increased heart rate, feeling anxious and having difficulty concentrating. People who constantly worry, lose their temper more than usual and are feeling negative fall into this category also.
 
Things you can do to tackle Stress

There are some straightforward changes that you can put in place to help reduce stress levels.

You can employ some relaxation techniques such as meditation and yoga, do exercise or play a sport that you love, think about the positive things in life and do what makes you happy.

Talking to friends and family about any issues you have also helps; after all, as the saying goes...
 

Here at Bluebird Care Northumberland South we recognise the stresses in our staff’s everyday life and this is why we have “A Better Health At Work Award” for continually supporting our staff.

On November 2^nd 2016 we are celebrating Stress Awareness Day by hosting an event in our offices to help our staff relax and get away from their troubles. We have employed a therapist to give our staff on-site massages. This will consist of massaging the head, neck, shoulders, hands and arms which promotes the release of endorphins which will leave our employees feeling more focused, relaxed and most importantly feeling less stressed.
 
Those who have opted not to have a massage have been invited into a drop-in party where we will serve cakes and hot drinks throughout the day, giving them an opportunity to have a chat to us about non-related work issues.
 
We will continually work with our staff to ensure that they motivated and are in good health; as their wellbeing is important to the company as well as to providing the best care to our customers.

For more information about stress management and coping you can see some useful contacts on Mind website.

You can also download this Stress: Self Help Guide from Northumberland, Tyne & Wear NHS Trust's website.